Wednesday, February 10, 2010

East Harlem parents pre-emptively organize against charter school | GothamSchools

Some East Harlem parents aren’t waiting to find out whether a charter school will move into their school building before organizing against the possibility.

Parents at the Manhattan East School for Arts and Academies recently got wind that the Department of Education was considering placing Harlem Success Academy 5, one of three new charters Eva Moskowitz plans to open next year, in their building. The plan would call for Manhattan East to move to another building across the street to create space for Moskowitz’s school.

The founding principal of Manhattan East, Jacqueline Ancess, said that the DOE did not tell the school that it could be moved; rather, the current principal and parents association head found out that a move was under consideration at an unrelated DOE meeting “by accident,” she said.

Ancess and the school’s parent association responded by sending out a letter yesterday asking parents and supporters to call the city’s information hotline today to ask the city not to relocate the school.

“Manhattan East is a very successful school,” the message urges parents to tell the city. “Moving Manhattan East from its home is unconscionable.”

Elk Grove Citizen : School district budget crisis: Additional $7 million in cuts?

Elk Grove Citizen : News

School district budget crisis:

Additional $7 million in cuts?

As the estimated revenues for the 2010-11 school budget turned financially ugly last week, it was reported the Elk Grove Unified School District negotiating staff left the teachers union table to review reports the school district could have an additional shortfall of $7 million.

The Elk Grove Education Association said the district had expected to make adjustments in expenditures on a shortfall of $13 million from the state for the school year 2010-11. But there may be another $7 million reduction in state funding. This is in addition to the $42 million in state cuts already imposed on the district in past years.

Another financial blow in the offing may be an anticipated $7 billion in state funds for schools from the federal government for costs incurred in making the country safe. It doesn’t appear it will be funded.

The additional $7 million hit for Elk Grove appears to be coming from a change in the attendance payments to the school district.

The state earlier said it would be from $201 to $250 reduction in student support. Taking a mid amount, the school district estimated that they would lose about $13 million. Reductions in sports, libraries, counseling and other cutbacks were being addressed. But it now appears it will cost the district another $7 million with the state taking a full $250 in reductions.

The school board held a closed session Tuesday evening to readdress the new information.

The timeline for addressing layoffs are:

• Layoff Information goes to the board March 2.

• Notices will be out by March 15.

• Hearings will take place in the beginning of April.

• Final layoffs will be by May 15.

The Educated Reporter: “Hope or Hype in Harlem?”

“Hope or Hype in Harlem?”

Knowing nothing but the zillion things I have read, and setting aside that the charter schools themselves are somewhat of a mystery to me, I think the Harlem Children’s Zone is all sorts of awesome. But I have always thought it intriguing how Geoffrey Canada managed to receive so much support (money, praise, etc.) from the type of people who usually insist on seeing results before they proclaim something a success. This has been probably the most written-about single endeavor for children in decades, yet we had not seen a truly thorough look into the two key questions that should be asked about HCZ: Does it work, and can it be copied?
Too early to draw firm conclusions, but now we at least have a start. Helen Zelon at CityLimits.org has reported and written a thorough and very interesting piece about Canada and the Zone, focusing on those two questions. To the first, there is no conclusive answer—Canada himself says they have such a long time horizon for judging success, decades, because the arc of the effort runs from infancy to college. Then why, as Zelon points out, does the HCZ not track students who left the program’s charter schools for public high schools outside the Zone, because the charter part of the pipeline was ending? “We don’t evaluate them in the sense we evaluate our own kids,” an official said. What a mistake. Isn’t the point of the pipeline that they are your “own kids” till they go to college, and wouldn’t you track them even beyond, if you are as results-oriented as you say?

The article leaves me with other questions. Zelon writes, “According to Canada’s tipping point theory, once Harlem reaches a 65 percent level of success—academic, economic,

CTA takes on corporate tax breaks: The Educated Guess

The Educated Guess
CTA takes on corporate tax breaks

One way or the other, the California Teachers Association and business interests were headed for a mighty battle this November over taxes. Now it’s clear what they’ll be fighting over.
On Sunday, delegates for the 325,000 member union voted to back initiatives to rescind corporate tax breaks (see initiatives #1412 and #1375), passed a year ago under cover of darkness, that eventually will cut state revenues by an estimated $1.7 billion. Backing up its vote with dollars, the CTA has committed $587,000 to gather 434,000 signatures needed to put it on the ballot.
(Read more and comment on this post)

First Lady Michelle Obama takes heat for naming Sasha, Malia in campaign against childhood obesity | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times

The cause is unassailable. One in three American kids, about 25 million, are obese or overweight. Obesity-related diseases cost the healthcare system $150 billion a year. And the rate of obesity in kids tripled in the United States between 1980 and 1999, an epidemic blamed on lack of exercise, a poor diet that's heavy on fat and sugar and not enough fresh fruits and vegetables.

Now, First Lady Michelle Obama is making the issue her own, spearheading a campaign to inform parents about choices and schools about their responsibilities, urging everyone to get up and move. Her goal: Eliminate childhood obesity within a generation. "We can't afford to wait," she says.

And everyone is applauding -- President Obama, who is pushing for reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act with a "historic" $10-billion investment over 10 years to improve the quality of school meals; the Centers for Disease Control, which has launched its own campaign on the issue; as well as the Disney Corp., which is planning public service announcements about the need for kids to exercise.

SF State Students Rally To Promote School-Supporting Oil Tax: The Alley: SFAppeal

A state Assemblyman from the East Bay is rallying with San Francisco college students this afternoon to promote a tax on oil production to stanch the ongoing cutbacks, furloughs and fee increases in California's higher education systems.

Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, planned to participate in a 12:30 p.m. rally at San Francisco State University.

He is the author of Assembly Bill 656, which would tax oil companies for every barrel of oil extracted in the state to fund higher education. California is the only oil-producing state in the nation that doesn't have a "severance tax" on oil, Torrico spokesman Jeff Barbosa said.

Similar taxes have been proposed and shot down in the past due to strong lobbying efforts by oil groups, Barbosa said. But as California faces a $20 billion deficit and prison spending outpaces that of the state university and college systems combined, many education groups have signed on as supporters of the bill, he said.

"We have to look for alternate sources of revenue," Barbosa said. "Everyone seems to recognize that our priorities might not be in the right place when it comes to spending more on prisons, but we have to look for alternate sources of revenue."

House Education Committee Chair George Miller, Rep. Mike Thompson Visit Napa New Technology High School

House Education Committee Chair George Miller, Rep. Mike Thompson Visit Napa New Technology High School:

"House Education Committee Chair George Miller, Rep. Mike Thompson Visit Napa New Technology High School

Two of California’s most influential congressmen, Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, and Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa, got a glimpse of the future of education Friday during a tour Napa New Technology High School and Napa High School with its Student-Centered 21st-Century classrooms (SC21)."

Napa, CA (Vocus/PRWEB ) February 10, 2010 -- Two of California’s most influential congressmen, Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, and Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa, got a glimpse of the future of education Friday during a tour of Napa New Technology High School and Napa High School with its Student-Centered 21st-Century classrooms (SC21).

Rep. George Miller observes a student at Napa New Technology High School.

Miller, who has long been an advocate of education, is chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. Thompson is a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees all revenue measures in Congress. Their two-hour visit included time spent in an American Studies classroom at Napa New Tech and a Political Studies classroom at Napa High School.
“Napa New Technology High School gives us the opportunity to look at the future,” Miller said. “And it gives students the opportunity to fully engage in the learning process with the full participation of their peers.”
Thompson said he was impressed with the performance of Napa New Tech.
“It was great to tour Napa New Tech High School and Napa High and see the innovativeSC21 programs they've implemented,” Thompson said. “Most impressively, they have real results to show that their model works. The achievement gap has been narrowed, the dropout rate has decreased, and college acceptance has increased. Our community should be commended for creating the public/private partnerships that have made this all possible."
The SC21 community initiative, based in Napa, seeks to provide classroom environments for students where 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, collaboration and creative problem-solving can be introduced, supported and developed.
Founded in 1996, Napa New Technology High School is the flagship high school of the New Tech Network, which now consists of 40 high schools in nine states. All New Tech Network schools are marked by project-based learning in a technology-rich environment. Unlike students in traditional high schools, where most teachers lecture and use textbooks as a teaching approach, teachers in New Tech high schools design rigorous, real-world projects tied to state and district standards and customize them to their location and the interests of students. The result: Students who are deeply engaged in learning and develop important skills such critical thinking and collaboration.

Funds freed; San Marcos, SDSU can add classes - SignOnSanDiego.com

A rare bit of good budgetary news has administrators at San Diego State and Cal State San Marcos preparing to spend millions of dollars in federal stimulus money on additional classes.

Charles B. Reed, chancellor of the California State University system, has announced that $50.9 million will be released to the system’s 23 campuses for the fall.

SDSU is set to receive about $4 million and Cal State San Marcos $1.3 million, campus officials said. They expect the funds will pay for hundreds of new classes, although they haven’t decided which ones.

Course offerings for the CSU system’s 450,000 students were trimmed during the past year because of a $564 million drop in state funding. That has led to overcrowded lecture halls, less individual attention from professors and students not getting the classes they need to graduate.

“Hopefully, this will help to alleviate some of the shortages in classes, and students will be able to make faster progress toward their degree,” Reed said.

Last Chance for Asians to Join Redistricting Commission - NAM

Last Chance for Asians to Join Redistricting Commission - NAM

Apply for the Commission Online—December 15, 2009 through February 16, 2010.Learn about the general application and selection process and timeline. You can apply by clicking on the icon to the right:

Over the next week, ordinary California voters have an unprecedented opportunity to affect political elections in the state for the next 10 years. But as the days tick away, California’s Asian American community is in danger of having its voices shut out.

February 16 is the last day for applications to California’s new Citizens Redistricting Commission--a body that will have sweeping powers over the way state legislative and Board of Equalization district lines are drawn for the next 10 years. In other words, this commission of 14 ordinary Californians—5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 4 independents or voters from other parties—will shape California’s political future.

What’s the big deal? Well…here’s what’s at stake. The district lines that are drawn could significantly affect election results for the next 10 years. In the past, states like Texas have redrawn the lines so that a majority of the residents in a single district hail from one party. As a result, in those districts there is no real competition in elections—which ultimately decreases the power of individual voters.

In California, state legislative boundaries used to be drawn by lawmakers, but when voters passed Proposition 11 (the Voters FIRST Act) in the November 2008 general election, that responsibility transferred to the people. Unfortunately right now, there is a great danger that this commission will not be truly representative of the people in this state.

A truly representative redistricting commission is one that should look like California. In order to accurately reflect California’s voter demographics, it would mean that at least one of the 14 citizens redistricting commission members would be Asian American. But so far, applications do not come close to representing the diversity of California’s voters. More than 74 percent of the 7,681 registered voters who have applied are non-Hispanic whites. If nothing is done to change this, it could mean that no one from the Asian American community will be a member of this commission.

Asian American voices made a difference in the San Gabriel Valley. Prior to 1990, Asian American communities were divided up between three different Assembly districts, diminishing their ability to make a difference in any one district. Then, Asian Americans got involved in the redistricting process, and those communities were put into one district, greatly improving the ability for Asian Americans to make a difference in the political arena.

Having a greater voice in the decisions of America is critical in so many ways, and the consequences of being left out are devastating. During the 2000 Census, an estimated 1 percent of Asian/Pacific Islanders were left out in Los Angeles County alone—which ended up costing the community hundreds of millions of dollars in lost federal funding. Now, with less than 70 days before Census Day 2010 on April 1, organizations like the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) are gearing up to ensure we do not see a repeat of the year 2000 undercount. With our communities facing some of the toughest times in decades, we

Community Colleges Collaborate With For-Profit Institutions

Community Colleges Collaborate With For-Profit Institutions

Compiled By Yaffa Klugerman
February 9, 2010

Overcrowded community colleges grappling with surging demand are beginning to turn to for-profit colleges for help.

California community colleges, which have been forced to close registration to many due to significant state budget cuts and record enrollment, have just teamed up with Kaplan University to help students complete degrees. An agreement will allow California community college graduates to transfer to Kaplan University to complete online bachelor's degrees at a reduced tuition rate. The initiative will mark the first time that Kaplan will be offering single online courses to students.

"Providing single course options for California community college students demonstrates the personalized approach for which Kaplan is known," said Gregory Marino, president of the Kaplan University Group, in a press release. "It also allows California students to pursue their dreams of earning a college degree."

Students in the Kaplan University Community College Connection program will be able to enroll in online Kaplan courses approved by California community colleges and will be eligible for a 42 percent tuition reduction. Textbooks and instructional materials will be provided free.

Additionally, a new program will allow students who complete associate's degrees at California community colleges to easily transfer to a Kaplan online bachelor's degree program. Students enrolling in the Save My Credits Transfer program, as it is being called, will be eligible for a 10 percent tuition

Stopgap budget plan in play - Capitol and California - fresnobee.com

Stopgap budget plan in play- Capitol and California- fresnobee.com:

"Senate Democrats plan to begin approving a stopgap budget solution today that spares education and social services for now and allows local governments to hike gas prices for transit, according to legislative sources.
The package would solve less than a third of the $19.9 billion budget deficit and avoid most of the politically difficult cuts that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed in his own January budget. Democrats hope to push debate on social service and health cuts into June, while they believe the Legislature should not rejigger the education funding formula until revenues are revised in May.
The Democratic plan could tackle up to $6 billion of the deficit. Democrats have not yet decided whether to pursue a $1.4 billion requirement that businesses and governments withhold taxes on independent contractors, sources said."

Increases planned for public schools under Rendell budget plan

State Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said the governor's proposed budget for 2010-11 reflects hard choices, including providing more money for public basic education while holding steady the money for public higher education.
"We want to get the fundamentals right. Fundamentals really begin with the basic education system being well done. We've got to do basic education right," Dr. Zahorchak said Tuesday.
He said colleges won't have to provide remedial education if basic education is done right and he anticipates the federal government will increase Pell grants for needy post-secondary students.
He also said that 37 other states have cut higher education assistance to balance their budgets.
The budget calls for a $354.8 million increase in basic education spending -- 7.28 percent -- to be allotted using a formula aimed at providing more resources for school districts that are getting an inadequate share. Basic education funding would total $5.88 billion.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10041/1034704-298.stm#ixzz0f8mtGS10

Quick Takes: Campus Disruptions of Israelis' Speeches Criticized - Inside Higher Ed

The Anti-Defamation League on Tuesday issued a statement denouncing Monday night's disruptions at the University of California at Irvine of a speech by Israel's ambassador and suggested that a pattern was emerging of "undemocratic, bullying, confrontational tactics" to block Israeli views from being heard. At Irvine, students were arrested for repeatedly interrupting the ambassador's talk. Michael Drake, Irvine's chancellor, on Tuesdayissued a statement on the disruptions, which he called "intolerable." Drake said: "Freedom of speech is among the most fundamental, and among the most cherished of the bedrock values our nation is built upon. A great university depends on the free exchange of ideas. This is non-negotiable. Those who attempt to suppress the rights of others violate core principles that are the foundation of any learning community. We cannot and do not allow such behavior."

The ADL statement also cited a recent incident at the University of California at Los Angeles in which students stood up during a talk by an Israeli to block others from seeing the speaker. The students left after being told

Catholic Culture : Latest Headlines : Planned Parenthood is sole pregnancy resource in Catholic college’s ‘Youth to College’ handbook

The “resource toolkit” of a handbook published by a Catholic college in California includes only one pregnancy-related resource: the Planned Parenthood Kearny Mesa Clinic in San Diego. According to the University of San Diego, “The ‘Youth to College’ program is designed to address the important issue of students from underrepresented groups who do not know that higher education can be a viable option for them.”

In addition, the University of San Diego’s career services office describes the International Planned Parenthood Federation as a “global humanitarian organization” that “provide[s] healthcare to [the] needy,” according to the college’s web site. The office also includes the Planned Parenthood Federation of America among its online resources for international study and work and desribes the organization as providing “reproductive

The State Hornet - EDITORIAL: Why can’t we get help with graduation now?

The State Hornet - EDITORIAL: Why can’t we get help with graduation now?

While The State Hornet supports the California State University system’s initiative to increase graduation rates, we are not completely convinced nor satisfied with the proposal as it is now.

The systemwide initiative is expected to raise CSU graduation rates from 46 to 54 percent by 2016. Each of the system’s 23 campuses will make individual changes to meet this plan.

“Of all of the groups discussing this issue on the 23 CSU campuses, ours probably has the largest number of faculty involved,” said Anthony Sheppard, Sacramento State Faculty Senate chair.

Sac State plans to address this initiative through a series of changes including reforming General Education requirements. Provost and vice president of Academic Affairs Joseph Sheley said the current system is “mainstream” and used by most American universities, but that it no longer works.

“The problem is that the mainstream has now hit the wall in institutions throughout the country,” Sheley said Jan. 21 at President Alexander Gonzalez’s spring address. “In this vein, I’ve asked the senate executive committee to help me begin serious discussions about revising GE. I’ll be asking them as well to assist me in initiating similar discussion about structuring the size of major requirements, the breadth of major requirements and GE such that our students have far more flexibility in selecting courses under a broader electives category. It’s about giving them more options.”

And that is exactly what it should be about: giving students as many options as possible. But that’s the problem with this initiative; it seems to forget about current students.

How is an initiative to increase graduation rates in 6 years going to benefit students that can’t even get into required classes? Some of us can’t even find enough classes to meet financial aid requirements of at least 12 units per semester.

Golden Gate [X]press : CSU gets pushy about upping graduation rate

Golden Gate [X]press : CSU gets pushy about upping graduation rate:

"The California State University system announced a graduation initiative at a Board of Trustees meeting on Jan. 27 aimed at raising the system's graduation rates and encouraging underrepresented students to graduate from college.

The initiative is meant to increase the CSU's 46 percent six-year graduation rate to 54 percent in all 23 campuses by 2016. It also plans to cut in half the gap in degree attainment of minority and low-income students.

'The goal of this initiative is to not only increase the number of students who complete their degree, but to also help those from traditionally underrepresented communities who may need additional support to finish,' CSU Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Jeri Echeverria said in a press release. 'After all, that is the end goal - a college degree.'

In an interview with CSU's Voices and Views blog, she added that there are approximately 460,000 graduate and undergraduate students in the CSU system, but not all of them finish their degrees and graduate. 'A college education will do"

The Orion - Less prison spending means more CSU funds

The governor recently proposed an amendment to the California Constitution that would cap spending on prisons and raise higher education funds.

This proposal is in addition to a budget that will return millions of dollars to the California State University system.

The proposed California budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will return about $255 million to the CSU system that he withdrew from the 2009-10 budget, said Chico State President Paul Zingg in an e-mail interview.

While it is good to see the funds coming to the system, it is important to remember this is not new money, Zingg said.

“It would be a restoration of state money for one-time federal money — which partially covered budget cuts in 2008-09,” he said. “So there’s a long history here of under-funding and patchwork coverage.”

The governor is also putting forth an amendment to the California Constitution that would require spending on prisons to be less than spending on higher education at all times.

The amendment would bring at least 10 percent of the annual general fund to the CSU and University of California systems, while requiring that no more than 7 percent goes to the correctional system.

‘Fairness’ in Education - Thomas Sowell - National Review Online

‘Fairness’ in Education
At a Berkeley high school, “equality” means fewer science teachers.

A recent flap in a Berkeley high school reveals what a farce “fairness” can be. Because this is ultra-liberal Berkeley, perhaps we should not be surprised that a proposal has been made to eliminate four jobs as science teachers and use the money saved for programs to help low achievers.

In Berkeley, as in many other communities across the country, black and Latino students are not performing as well as Asian and white students. In fact, the racial gap in academic achievement at Berkeley High School is the highest in California — no doubt a special source of embarrassment in politically correct Berkeley.

Oregon civil rights group offers scholarships to white students - Yahoo! News

San Francisco – In a unique twist to the notion of using educational scholarships to improve minority representation, an Oregon civil rights group says it will offer a $2,000 scholarship to encourage white college students to pursue studies in race relations.

The initiative by the Oregon League of Minority Voters, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group based in Portland, Ore., may well be the first of its kind. College scholarships have long been seen as a vehicle – albeit a controversial one – for improving the condition of minorities, but this appears to be the first time that white students have been singled out for assistance in the name of promoting civil rights.

“We lack white participation in the racial conversation in this state, so we are trying to do something about it,” says Promise King, executive director of the Oregon group. “When we talk about race relations, most of the time in Oregon, most white people are not at the table.”

The focus of his organization remains on empowering minorities, but the group also feels it’s important to have non-minority allies in a state where about 90 percent of the population is white, Mr. King says.

“I’m trying to push for solutions. And that’s what is driving this vision, to really seek out white students who will in the future be at the forefront of civil rights,” he says.

Nevada Goes Nuts, Cutting Spending On Education, Adult Care, Hearing Aids, Speech Therapy, Adult Diapers

If the US has its equivalent to the Greeceproblem, it's definitely the state budgets (rather than the Federal one) that we have to worry about.

Here's what it looks like when a state has to make the hard choices, in this case Nevada.

Yesterday the state announced deep cuts in education and health and human services, eliminating hearing aids, adult care, and speech therapy, just to name a few things.Dentures and adult diapers are gone too.

Just like in Greece, there was a strike (among UNLV students, so we doubt it had a huge impact). Of course this is just one such situation.

Los Angeles votes on school restructuring initiatives

Los Angeles votes on school restructuring initiatives
The crisis of public education in California

Los Angeles votes on school restructuring initiatives

By Dan Conway
10 February 2010

Schools throughout Los Angeles held community elections last week to decide whether or not to restructure public schools in accordance with provisions of the city’s recently drafted Public School Choice initiative. The vote—which was non-binding and thus does not force the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to actually heed the expressed sentiments of parents, teachers, and students—took place on Tuesday and Saturday of last week. While the district initially promised that results would be announced on Saturday afternoon, LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines has delayed their posting until February 12.

The Public School Choice initiative was drafted in response to recent legislation passed by state government that is intended to make California eligible for up to $700 million in awards under the Obama administration’s “Race to the Top” education program. The passage of the legislature—which allows the state to close public schools and convert them to charter schools—links teacher and administrator work evaluations to student test performance, gives parents greater freedom to take their children out of supposedly poorly-performing public schools and transfer them to newly created charters, and permits parents to petition for the replacement and firing administrators and teachers—does not guarantee that California will actually receive any of the “Race to the Top” money, only that it will be in competition with various other near-bankrupt states for the funds.

Three days before signing the bill, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a budget for the state that included more than $2.4 billion in cuts to K-12 education. If passed, these will follow on the heels of upwards of $20 billion in cuts to the school system in 2009.

At the school polls in Los Angeles last week, voters were asked to indicate which private or semi-private charter school company should be awar

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

School district budget crisis:

Additional $7 million in cuts?

“Hope or Hype in Harlem?”

Los Angeles votes on school restructuring initiatives

By Dan Conway 10 February 2010

By Dan Conway
10 February 2010